Friday, 6th June 08

The Manchester Sharks water polo team won the Silver medal, their best position yet, at the 5th International LGBT multi-sport tournament in Paris 9th-12th May 2008.

After a defeat against Gay Swim Amsterdam Team 1 during their first game, the Sharks easily won their second game against Paris AquaHomo Team 1. The following game against Paris Montmartre to qualify for the final was, according to captain Darren Jones, the hardest game the team had ever played and certainly had the crowd gripped.

After being 2-0 up for most of the game, the Sharks drew 2-2 at the end of game time. A gruelling further 20 minutes of extra time on golden goal rules wasn’t enough to separate the two teams and only the penalties gave the Sharks their ticket to the final.

The final between Gay Swim Amsterdam Team 1 and Manchester Sharks was dedicated to Alex Gast, a Dutch team member who past away this year and had been a mainstay of the team for many years. The Sharks fought their hardest for the Gold but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to overcome the strength of the Amsterdam team. Congratulations though to The Sharks who proudly left Paris with a Silver medal.